That fearless approach has brought Rhinelander's Jacob DeMeyer and Alec Kurtz plenty of success on the mat.

"You know when people around the state talk about them, I'm like 'yeah my guys are just as good as yours,'" said Ellenbecker.

The two seniors are both defending conference and sectional champions. Now they're both off to undefeated starts this season.

"We've been facing top opponents from historically good teams," said Kurtz.

That didn't slow them down as each earned victories at a difficult tournament last week. Ellenbecker says the Hodags tough schedule is the perfect challenge for them.

"They're going to wrestle the toughest kids around and they're not going to be the least bit intimidated," said Ellenbecker.

Ellenbecker praises the duo's work in practice, and says it doesn't just benefit them.

"Our whole team picks up having those guys in the room," said Ellenbecker. "It brings the talent level that much higher because if [their teammates] don't compete they're going to get their butts kicked on a nightly basis."

DeMeyer says he uses last year's fourth place finish at state as his driving force each day.

"Knowing that you're so close and that end goal is right there but you still haven't quite accomplished it gives me a lot of fuel," said DeMeyer.

It's the kind of fuel that the two seniors hope takes them to new heights.

"I definitely want to make a championship appearance and try to get into the finals," said DeMeyer.

"I'm definitely going to shoot for podium, and upper level podium, and then to go undefeated as long as I can," said Kurtz.

Ellenbecker thinks their fearless approach on the mat can be enough to capture the ultimate prize.

"That should be their goals is to be state champions, because they work hard, they put the time in, they've been wrestling since they were little and you can just see their development," said Ellenbecker.

DeMeyer is currently ranked fourth in the state in the 160-pound division while Kurtz is ranked fourth in the 195-pound division.

PARK FALLS - The Chequamegon-Phillips boys hockey team earned its third win a row on Saturday. The victory pushed the SEaLs to 3-1 on the season.

For the SEaLs, those wins are an added bonus to even having a team. They're one of just 13 independent high school teams in the state. Not belonging to a conference means the Seals need to dig a little deeper to simply fill out a schedule.

"That's what we have to do to get games, without a conference, you don't just start out with 12-16 games already scheduled and a look for a couple fillers, you know we had to find our whole schedule," said Head Coach Tim Gehrke.

EAGLE RIVER - Three months ago, a water skiing accident nearly left Merrill firefighter Chris Marion paralyzed. The St. Germain native has shocked everyone around him with an amazing recovery that's far from over. Tuesday night, Marion stood side-by-side with the Northland Pines Eagles, as they honored him before their game against Lakeland.

"It's absolutely amazing, I can't even explain how it feels," said Marion.

For Marion, standing on the ice at the Eagle River Ice Arena took a lot more effort than he ever imagined it could.

"I do recall [lying] face down in the water, unable to move," said Marion.

ANTIGO - Antigo boys hockey expected to be a good team again this year, but the Red Robins knew they needed to find a new goalie. Just three games into the season, it seems like they found one.

"I was a little nervous coming into the game," said Antigo sophomore Brody Bunnell.

Those nerves didn't show last week when Bunnell made 37 saves against SPASH. Even though the Red Robins lost that game, Bunnell showed his coaches what he could do.

"We knew coming in that we had a good goalie, but as much as he stepped up in those two games against SPASH and New Richmond, he really exceeded our expectations," said Antigo Head Coach Matt Borneman.

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